


Send Me Back

by CheeseAndCake



Series: Bloodstained Hourglass [2]
Category: Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
Genre: Bad Ending, Canon Compliant, Canon within the CotM series, Gen, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Temporary Character Death, Time Loop, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:01:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28359750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CheeseAndCake/pseuds/CheeseAndCake
Summary: This is the second time he’s defeated Gremory. This time, without shedding any human blood.He’s still not satisfied with the result.[A scene at the end of the Sacrafice Ending in Curse of the Moon. Zangetsu mourns the loss of heroes he never knew, before The Moon’s Curse interrupts.]
Series: Bloodstained Hourglass [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2076900
Kudos: 2





	Send Me Back

**Author's Note:**

> This idea has been bouncing around in my head for a while- in the game Zangetsu actually mentions that there is a curse that causes people to "drift against the flow of time" that caused this idea to spawn. 
> 
> I made this while half asleep, so please let me know if there are any errors!

Zangetsu glared at the field from the cliffside. 

The castle was gone. Gremory was slain. It was over. The demon’s plans, her kingdom, it was over. He should be satisfied. His purpose was fulfilled, and yet…

They were still dead. The alchemist. The Shardbinders. They died protecting him, and his lip still curled with disgust while thinking about them. 

They had revealed that his greatest asset- his ruthlessness- was his greatest weakness. 

It would be hilarious if it wasn’t so tragic.

 _“Why the grim expression, Moon Slayer?”_

“Have you come to taunt me, Curse?” He hissed as he allowed rage to replace his sorrow. He couldn’t glare at it, as the Curse was part of him, but he knew the venom in his voice would give it the same message: _Do not test me. I will destroy you._

 _“Not at all.”_ The Moon’s Curse whispered to him, its voice flooding his thoughts. _“You have triumphed over the Archdemon, and gotten rid of those you hate, all without staining your soul. Is that not what you wanted when you stormed this castle? So why do you mourn?”_

“Be _silent!”_ He screamed, his voice finally rising. There was no malice in its tone, yet he knew it was mocking him. 

“You have no right to speak of things you do not understand! No right to act as if you _care_ , as if you were-” _a human_. He wanted to say. _As if you were a human._ His voice faltered, and exhaustion replaced the rage, because, wasn’t this how it started? He was so certain that the alchemist and the Sharbinder’s weren’t human- so certain in their guilt that he cut them down.

He didn’t even hesitate, and they didn’t fight back- perhaps from previous injuries, fear, or some sort of life debt. He slayed them, and had become something far worse. Then, like some sort of _blessing,_ the Moon’s Curse activated again, and he was back in the beginning. 

This time, he didn’t kill them, but he couldn’t ally himself with them, with strangers who used the power of demons. His hatred and distrust wouldn’t allow it. 

And they died to save him, as if his vengeance was _noble_. They died to save the life of a stranger.

They knew nothing about him, and he knew nothing about them.

He didn’t even know their _names_. They would have no graves to mark their sacrifice, since their bodies were _buried with the castle_. 

_They might have had a family_. Zangetsu felt sick at the thought. Just because he had long since cut his ties to others, it didn’t mean they were the same. Hadn’t this entire journey showed him just how narrow his beliefs truly were?

They might have had a family, and Zangetsu wouldn’t even be able to bring their bodies back for a proper burial, or give their loved ones news of their deaths- of their sacrifices.

The Curse still waited for him to finish his sentence, remaining silent.

Despite everything, The Moon’s Curse was still there. Still able to take away his progress, his accomplishments.

Still able to take away his failures, his sins.

“Send me back.” He demanded, his voice horse. This is _his_ Curse, and he _will_ make the best of it. “Send me to the new moon.” 

He knows right now, the cruelest thing the Curse could do is leave him here, and let him continue the fight alone… Yet, it held no love for Gremory. It simply fulfils its role- even if it means sabotaging other demons’ plans. Even if it meant turning Zangetsu human again when he had become the very thing he swore to destroy.

 _“The beginning?”_ It asks, clearly curious. _“You would erase all you’ve done, again?”_ The unspoken _‘Why?’_ hung in the air, and Zangetsu wasn’t foolish enough to lie to a thing that has access to his mind. 

He doubted it realised that humans are capable of changing for the better, or that a Curse could ever feel something akin to the guilt that now weighed in his chest, so he recited a lesson he learned years ago: “No matter what powers I may gain, they are nothing compared to a trusted companion.”

That answer appeared to be enough, since he can start to feel the world turn dark again, as he’s sent back to what the Curse referred to as ‘the beginning.’

He may not be able to completely smother the hatred that burns in his chest, but the guilt is more than enough to restrain him from doing something he will regret. 

With those thoughts in mind, he raised his blade as the fog cleared, and dove into the battle once again.


End file.
